ABSTRACT

Introduction Theorising emotion and affect has become a central area of interest for social and cultural theorists including for many feminist theorists and the literature has been extensive (Berlant 1997; Damasio 1994, 2003; Massumi 2002; Ngai 2005; Nicholson 1999; and Nussbaum 2001). Much attention has focused on distinguishing between emotion and affect. As Gorton (2007: 334) shows: “some argue that emotion refers to a sociological expression of feelings whereas affect is much more firmly rooted in biology and in our physical response to feelings; others attempt to differentiate on the basis that emotion requires a subject while affect does not.” However, not all feminist theorists see the need for a distinction as Probyn (2005: 11) indicates: “A basic distinction is that emotion refers to cultural and social expression, whereas affects are of a biological and physiological nature.” One of the areas which has been central in these debates is the relationship between public and private domains.